Are you black? I ask because in prison pretty much every black person got a shave pass meaning they only had to shave once a week instead of stay absolutely clean fucking shaven like the rest of us with the cheap razors we got each week.

They got to use the barbers electric razors instead and that seemed to really help

In addition to what everyone else says, I’ve done well with rubbing aloe on after. I’m not usually a natural goop guy but my ex bought it for me and I found it actually works pretty well.

Many sectors don’t want you to know lifestyle, sports and nutrition define the state of your skin, body in general and mind

Use a cleanser that destroys bacterial bioflims and addresses the core issue (and clean/replace razor regularly)

The only company I am aware of with a product that reliably helps stop the acne cycle by destroying the biofilms is this: https://tbhskincare.com/collections/cleansers-for-acne-prone-skin/products/antibacterial-cleanser

It might not be acne but ingrown hairs or an allergic response (hives) from the shaving cream you use.

• Exfoliate before and after you shave to limit ingrown hairs.

• Try a different shaving cream

• Use some kind of astringent after shaving

Stop shaving.

Haven’t shaved my face in 10 years. Haven’t had a haircut in 11 years. This is the way.

IMO pre-shave balm before shaving cream makes a noticeable difference in irritation.

Do you have any metal allergies? If you think you do, you might consider looking for a blade without that particular metal. Most stainless steel contains nickel, which is a fairly common allergy.

so, how quickly does the acne show up after shaving? are you sure it’s not irritation from shaving itself?

some general advice for sensitive skin:

• use facial cleansers as part of the pre-shave routine (and maybe also after if it is indeed acne. this will remove whatever product is causing the clogged pores as well as the bacteria)
• use a non-gel shaving cream. (or any goop-in-a-can.) instead use something you have to whip up. (I’m not sure what you mean by ‘oat based’ there’s both the goop-in-a-can versions, and poraso has a cream-in-a-tube of the stuff.) (in extreme cases you would want something unscented as well.)
• use cold water, both for the rinse and whipping the cream.
• use a hot towel to open up your skin’s pores. -use a fresh, clean and sharp razor every time. I would also suggest if you haven’t already, getting a sample back of many different brands of blades.
• rinse with cold water, and apply an alum block (and rinse again,) (the styptic pencils aren’t very good. you want a smooth block of alum.) also, in this vein, check your safety razor. when seating a new blade, there should not be any real play with the cap off. the blade should pull into a seat so that it’s constantly centered (and parallel!) on both sides the blade. I found the often-recommended “entry level” Merkur 34c to be horrible in this regard. I now use a Muhle closed comb (if you look at the prongs the blade registers against, they’re more conical to the merkur’s straight pillars, as you tighten it just centers the blade perfectly.)
• use a product with witch hazel in it, I use a post shave balm by thayers which is lightweight and moisturizing as well. this soothes further irritation and mends the dehydration from everything else. pretty much any lightweight post-shave balm will do. Again, look for something unscented.
• use an alcohol based aftershave. among other things, it’ll absolutely destroy the bacteria involved in causing acne. something like eucalyptus green if you want to limit scents (it fades quickly,) but anything traditional aftershave splash will do.

Increase it before shaving your face

Have you considered an electric shaver? It doesn’t cut as close, but by the same token, it also doesn’t scrape across the skin. You’ll avoid catching the tops of any spots that you may have, and until your skin becomes happier with wet shaving, it’ll keep the whiskers away.

For me a double edged safety razor as well as drawing a face map of the directions my hair grows so I could shave “with the grain” for the first pass.

Besides going to a dermatologist, here are a few things.

Change your pillowcases often. Sleeping on the oil creates more oil.

Take some steam baths and saunas. Open the pores and clear the skin.

There’s a problem in answering this. We don’t know what the actual cause is, and we don’t know if it’s acne, a reaction to products, ingrown hairs, or just irritated skin that mimics one or multiple of those. So, be aware that you’re going to see responses that may not address the real problem but is still good in general, even if it doesn’t lead to a fix.

So, I used to be a nurse’s assistant. Shaving people is part of that job sometimes. Back in the day, one of my teachers was even the crazy type that pulls the whole “shave a balloon” thing. Which, while entertaining and slightly useful, doesn’t actually teach what it takes to shave a person.

Anyway, shaving is always a skin irritant. It’s a matter of degrees. Most of the time, if you follow the core principles, that irritation is going to be below the threshold where it’s noticeable for more than a few minutes at most.

Number one rule is that sharp razors cause the least irritation, and are less likely to result in nicks. Doesn’t matter what kind of razor you use, it has a limited range of uses before it needs sharpening or replacement. A straight razor, you strop every time you use it. Safety razors and most of the disposable head razors (no matter how many blades) expect to get three shaves at most before you start feeling the difference.

Yeah, that’s less than what most guides will say. That’s because you can definitely get more shaves in before it turns into a problem. But you’ll feel a change before it gets to the point where you’re losing the ability to slice smoothly and it turns into damaged skin. Most safety razors, assuming your facial hair isn’t absurdly thick and dense, expect to change the razor after five or six uses. Some of the multiblade heads can stretch a little more up to maybe ten shaves total, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to shave myself or anyone else with something for that long.

See, sharpness is only the first factor. Cleanliness is another. As you build up soap residue, microscopic cells, etc; the razor not only cuts more poorly, it’s likely growing bacteria for you. There’s ways to prevent that. Make sure the razor is as clean after use as possible, then dry it thoroughly. Some folks recommend rinsing them in something like barbicide, but I tend to see that as causing extra work for diminishing returns, so I don’t recommend it when this comes up.

If your razor is sharp and clean, you’ll minimize irritation as well as minimize and bacterial growth afterwards, which is what pimples are, and why ingrown hairs look like pimples. It’s bacteria that’s gotten part way into the skin and is being walled off and killed. The pus is dead microbes and your own immune cells (basically, this is the quick and dirty version because this is about shaving, not skin infections).

Next, you do your prep. The skin itself is going to respond best, overall, when it has been exfoliated gently, and is both warm and as hydrated as is reasonable. So wash your face first, with warm water. Not cold, that’s going to cause issues.

Look, my hands are killing me, so I’m going to have to take some meds and come back to this. I will though, and I promise you that it’ll be worth it. If you run across this before I come back, I intend to ping OP once I finish it. If anyone else wants a ping, let me know. It shouldn’t be half an hour or so before I come back to it, but I will come back.

Get medication against acne from a doctor. That was the only thing that finally helped me get rid of it.